Counting mechanism.



J. ROUSSO.

COUNTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.31, 1914.

Patented July 20, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.,\v/\sH|N GGGGGG .c

J. ROUSSO.

COUNTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION man AUG.3|| 1914.

1,147,552. Patented July 20, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON. D, c.

JACQUES ROUSSO, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COUNTING MECHANISM Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1915.

Application filed August 31, 1914 Serial No. 859,378

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAo UEs Roosso, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Counting Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in counting mechanisms and has for its object the provision of an improved construction of this character adapted to-facilitate the counting of perforated towels or similar articles.

The invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a. part of this specification, and in which,

7 Figure 1 is a side view of a device embodying my invention, Fig. 2, a sectional view illustrating an electric light and battery therefor employed in the construction, Fig. 3, a plan view of a portion of a perforated towel in conjunction with which the device is adapted to be used, Fig. 4, a vertical section taken on line 4.& of Fig. 1, Fig. 5, a plan view of the device, Fig. 6, a horizontal section of the device taken just under the supporting plate thereof, and Fig.

' 7, a transverse vertical section taken through the supporting plate.

The preferred 'form -of construction as illustrated in the drawings comprises a supporting plate 8 which isadapted to be se-.

cured to the edge of a table 9 by means of screws 10 as shown in Fig. 5. A supporting bracket 11 is arranged on the under side of plate 8 adjacent the edge of table 9 and is provided with a socket 12 arranged to register with an opening 13 in plate 8. One side of socket 12 is open and a leaf spring 14 is arranged in said opening as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4. A detachable hollow post 15 is inserted in socket 12 through opening 13 and is provided at its lower end with a notch 16 adapted to receive the spring 14k and lock said post in position. By this arrangement it will be observed that the post may be inserted and locked in said socket and may be removed by rotating the same to move notch 16 out of engagement with s ring 14.

A spring-held depressible plunger 17 is arranged in post 15 to project through the bottom of socket 12 and is connected at its upper end with a depressible swinging arm 18 pivoted at 19 in post 15 and projecting laterally through a slot 20 in the wall of said post. By this arrangement it will be observed that the normal position of arm 18 is that shown in Fig. 1 but that when said arm 18 depressed said plunger 17 will also be depressed. A pawl arm 21 is pivotally mounted on bracket 11 in contact with the lower end of plunger 17, said pawl arm carrying a pawl 22 cooperating with a ratchet wheel 23 rotatably mounted on bracket 11. Pawl arm 21 is normally held in contact with the lower end of plunger 17 and pawl 22 is normally held in operative relation with ratchet wheel 23 by means of a tension spring 24. A roller 25 is mounted upon a spring arm 26 and rides upon the periphery of ratchet wheel 23 to serve as a detent to prevent retrograde movement of said ratchet wheel. Ratchet wheel 23 carries a pin 27 adapted to engage a cam surface 28 on a lever 29 to cause oscillation of said lever. Lever 29 is pivotally mounted on a stud 30 by means of a screw 31 and carries a spring friction arm 32 adapted to offer frictional resistance to'rotation of said lever. The upper end of lever 29 normally rests against a depressible spring-held button 33 protruding through the wall of a battery casing 34 secured under plate 8. The battery 35 is arranged in casing 34: and provided with contacts 36 and 37 cooperating with button 33 and an electric light 38 to pass current through said light when said button is depressed through pin 37 as eX- plained above. Light'SS projects into an opening 39 provided in plate 8 so as to be readily visible from above.

The device is designed to be used especially for counting towels for use in towel cabinets in which the towels are arranged to run upon a guide rod to prevent their surreptitious removal. A portion of one of these towels 4-0 is represented in Fig. 3 and is provided with a gromet 41 positioned centrally therein adjacent one end thereof, said gromet being adapted to pass freely over post 15. The arrangement is such that as the gromet in each towel is passed downwardly over post 15, arm 18 will be depressed resulting in an operation of pawl arm 21 and pawl 22 to move ratchet wheel 23 a distance corresponding to one of the teeth thereof, said ratchet wheel thus serving as a register to register the number of depressions of said plunger rod. Ratchet wheel 23 is provided with fifty teeth so that upon placing fifty towels singly over post 15 said ratchet wheel will be turned through one complete rotation. The device is started in operation with the pin 27 resting upon the cam surface 28 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that when the fiftieth towel is passed onto post 15, said pin 27 will again serve to depress button 33 lighting light 38 and thus notifying the operator that fifty towels have been placed on said post. Thereupon post 15 is removed by rotating the same through a portion of a rotation and lifting the same out of socket 12 and the towels readily removed therefrom. This constitutes a simple, reliable, accurate and efficient means for counting such articles. Obviously by changing the number of teeth in ratchet wheel 23 the number of towels adapted to be counted by the device may be varied as desired.

WVhile I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variations and modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the, scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a guide; a depressible member thereon adapted to be operated by the passage of a perforated member thereover; a register; and an operative connection between said member and said register, substantially as described.

2. A device of the character described comprising a detachable guide; a depressible member thereon adapted to be operated by the passage of a perforated member thereover; a register; and an operative connection between said member and said register, substantially as described.

3. A device of the character described comprising a hollow guide post having a slot near its top; a depressible swinging arm pivoted in said post and projecting through said slot; a spring-held plunger in said post and operatively connected with said arm; and a register operable by said plunger, substantially as described.

4. A device of the character described comprising a hollow guide post having a slot near its top; a depressible swinging arm pivoted in said post and projecting through said slot; a spring-held plunger in said post and pivotally connected with said arm; a pawl arm operable by said plunger; a pawl on said arm; and a ratchet wheel operable by said pawl, substantially as described.

5. A device of the character described comprising a plate adapted to be secured to the edge of a table and provided with an opening therein beyond said edge; a socket arranged under said plate in registration with said opening, said socket being open at one side; a leaf spring operating in the open side of said socket; a detachable hollow post fitting through the opening in said plate and into said socket, said post being notched at its lower end to receive said spring; a spring-held depressible plunger arranged in said post and projecting through the bottom of said socket; an operating arm pivoted in the upper end of said post, operatively connected to the upper end of said plunger and projecting laterally from said post, there being a slot provided in the upper end of said post to permit the passage and swinging of said arm; a spring-held pawl arm operable by said plunger; a pawl on said arm; and a ratchet wheel operable by said pawl, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACQUES ROUSSO.

Witnesses:

JOSHUA R. H. Po'r'rs, HELEN F. LILLIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. C. 

